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The interview recounts Joseph Kosai's personal experiences as a Japanese American citizen forced to evacuate his Tacoma, Washington residence on May 18, 1942 in response to the issuing of Executive Order 9066. Joseph, who was eight at the time, was transported with family members, first, to an assembly center in Pinedale, California, then to Tule Lake, where Kosai's extended family was dispersed and sent to different camps. Joseph, his mother, and younger sister were sent to the Minidoka Relocation Center in Idaho, where they would remain until May 17, 1945. In the interview, Kosai recalls his impressions of life in the internment camp. He also describes his readjustment after being released from Minidoka, as well as the impact of discrimination upon his subsequent educational and career opportunities. He also discusses his involvement in the national redress movement and other civil rights issues.

The Joseph Kosai oral history interview forms the core of a class project by Arlene Mihara for the Community History Project under the supervision of Professor Michael K. Honey. The main contents of Mihara's project are contained in a looseleaf binder, which includes the sound recording and transcript of the interview, Mihara's research paper and bibliograhy, and Kosai's release form. The title page of the transcript includes a mounted color photograph of Kosai taken at the time of his interview at the Tacoma Buddhist Temple.